Taking it Eze!

Just a few miles from the city of Nice in the South of France, or Cote d”Azur for those being specific, is the hilltop town of Eze (pronounced “eh-zz”).  Founded around 2000 BC, Eze began as a small commune near Mount Bastide.  The small commune was first occupied by the Romans, along with the Moors.  The town was also used as sort of an “eagle’s nest”; locals would use the high point of the town to lookout for invading armies and also as a lighthouse, or beacon.  Èze is a renowned tourist site on the French Riveria, with a famous view of the sea from its hill top.  The Jardin Botanique d’Eze is known for its collection of cacti, succulents, lawn ornaments, as well as its panoramic views.  The oldest building in the village is the Chapelle de la Sainte Croix and dates back to 1306.  The small medieval village is famous for its beauty and charm.  The numerous shops, art galleries, hotels and restaurants attract a large number of tourists.  As a result, Èze has become a “museum village”, few local residents live here.

I first visited Eze back in 2011 when I was on a cruise ship sailing in from Barcelona.  The ship docked near Ville-Franche, France, but I was headed from the harbor to Eze.  It was everything I expected a town in the South of France to look like; narrow streets, steep hills, cobblestones, stone windows, views of the sea, tall church steeples, and hotels with the French flag draped outside for all to see.  What made this place memorable was that this was the very first place I had ever seen!  Not Paris, not Bordeaux, and not Nice.  I think it was nice that I was going to inaugurate my trip to France with a visit to a place that would not be that touristy.  But then I remembered, “Wait a sec, this is France!  There are tourists everywhere!  Well, at least I won’t run into any camera-happy shutterbugs or rude Frenchmen.”  By the way, I kid about that joke.  I learned that the French are, in fact, not rude.  But that’s a topic for another time.

One thing I noticed was how many unusual lawn ornaments there were on the grassy terraces on the edge of the cliffs.  My favorite were the elephant statues and large chess pieces; I can’t tell you how much I wanted to take those home!  For a split second, I thought they were real elephants, only because they were really big!

A wonderful moment came when I was walking around the church, and the church bells began chimes, and in such a beautiful sound!  Combine that with the panoramic view of the Mediterranean Sea, a gentle breeze, numerous flowers around, and the narrow street passages, and this made my visit to Eze, let alone my first visit to France, a most memorable one, indeed!